Hilary Swank

Though she struggled to gain her footing for almost a decade, actress Hilary Swank finally had a major breakthrough when she earned the Academy Award for her gripping performance in the indie darling...
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Josh Duhamel Turned Lisa Simpson On, and Other Highlights From the ‘New Year’s Eve’ Press Day

By:
Thomas Leupp
Dec 07, 2011

New Year’s Eve, director Garry Marshall’s quasi-sequel to his shockingly successful 2010 rom-com Valentine’s Day, opens everywhere in theaters this Friday. In commemoration of this glorious occasion, Marshall and assorted members of his film's mega-ensemble, including Zac Efron, Lea Michele, Hilary Swank, Josh Duhamel, and Michelle Pfeiffer, gathered at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles for a press conference that proved every bit as illuminating as one could possibly hope. Following are some of the highlights:
Josh Duhamel’s scenes with Yeardly Smith, best known as the voice of Lisa Simpson, proved more discomfiting than he anticipated:
“I kept thinking, ‘This is Lisa Simpson,’” Duhamel recounted. “She was playing the pastor’s wife, and there was a few takes where she was playing it really kinda frisky … I was telling her this story about this girl that I’d met the year before, and she played it like she was getting all hot and bothered, and I kept thinking, ‘I’m making Lisa Simpson all hot and bothered with this story.’ There was something really wrong about that.”
Hilary Swank’s charming anecdote about her New Year’s Eve scene partner, Robert De Niro, may unwittingly give credence to those who accuse the Raging Bull star of sleepwalking through the latter portion of his career:
“I walk in and Robert’s in the bed, and he’s kinda laying there,” Swank recalled of her first scene with De Niro. “You hear all this stuff about Robert De Niro, that he’s method. And this is a comedy, but [his character] is dying. I don’t want to get in anyone’s way. So, he’s laying there and he’s like this [mimes serious pose]. He sees me, and he kinda shuts his eyes, and I’m thinking, ‘Wow, he’s giving it to me. Like we’re connected here. We are connected. Me and De Niro – method.’ I start getting a little emotional. But the camera’s not on me, but we were just getting into the mood, of the father-daughter, father dying kind of thing. I’m feeling it. I’m going deep with De Niro. The next thing I know, he’s opens his eyes, ‘Aaah, anyone got that coffee?’ And I’m like, ‘Oh, my god, he was sleeping!’ I thought he was going deep for me. The truth is, he’d been in that bed all day, from like six in the morning. He took a nap!”
Apparently, Lea Michele is the easily-impressed type:
“He’s also really smart and would like talk about everything going on in the world,” Michele raved about her co-star, Ashton Kutcher. “I had absolutely no idea half the stuff he was talking about. So, I would go home and Google everything, and try to brush up on everything that’s going on in our world [in order to] come in the next day and try to have a conversation.”
Zac Efron has a thing for older women – much older women.
“I met Michelle a few years ago doing Hairspray and had a huge crush on her, always, from day one,” said the High School Musical star about Michelle Pfeiffer, with whom he shot the bulk of his New Year's Eve scenes. “Back then I was very, very young and very bashful … But then, I got to talk on the phone with [her] about this part, I remember, and she said, ‘I think we should take this to the next level. We should really push it. Let’s get a kiss in there.’ I was like, ‘I am in! I’m in this movie. Put me in, sign me up. Let’s do it.’ It was awesome. [To Michelle] It was lovely working with you. Every single second with you was amazing.”
“Well, I’m the envy of every girl across the planet, I think,” Pfeiffer blushed. “I got a kiss in there with Zac Efron, which was pretty clever of me, at the ripe old age of 53.”
If you’re looking for a hot party on New Year’s Eve, you might want to avoid Hilary Swank’s house:
“I stopped trying to chase the perfect place to be and realized the perfect place is with your loved ones and with your closest friends, around the dinner table, over a good meal, talking about the past year and the year to come and things that you want to change in your life, and hearing their stories and what you’d like to see happen in the world,” related Swank. “That’s what we do. And I never make it to midnight – ever.”
Pfeiffer is hardly a night owl, either, though that could change if Efron gets his way:
“I celebrate New Year’s at nine p.m. West Coast time,” said Pfeiffer. “I watch the ball drop in my jammies with some champagne, maybe some pie, or whatever happens to be around. I stopped setting those unrealistic expectations for New Year’s Eve many years ago.”
“We’re going to change that because you’re coming out with me this year,” Efron asserted (threatened?). “The parties seem to get better and better every year. I’ll show you how we do it, Michelle.”
If don't like Efron’s character’s dialogue in New Year's Eve, don't blame Garry Marshall, bro:
"Zac and I are different ages, so a lot of times when we wrote scenes and some of the words didn’t seem to be in his vernacular, I asked him to say it the way he’d say it," revealed Marshall. "[To Zac] There was one scene [where] you said 'Bro' seven times. I think he made it more real, just by doing his own language."
Marshall knows a thing or two about language. In addition to directing, he likes to invent new words:
"There’s a word – I think it’s French or English – called 'portcanteau,'" Marshall explained. "It’s p-o-r-t-c-a-n-t-e-a-u. It means a series of stories that intermingle and come to some conclusion. It’s been done years ago by many European filmmakers – Love Actually is a modern picture that does that. So rather than say, 'Well, he does a show with a lot of stars,' I like to say it’s a portcanteau film."
Click on the image below for more pics from New Year’s Eve:

The Oscar-winning actress admits she loves giving her pets presents and even her two parrot fish and Japanese fighting fish get presents at Christmas.
After hearing the Boys Don't Cry star was looking for the hard-to-find agility course, pal Ellen DeGeneres tracked one down and gifted it to the actress when she appeared on her talk show on Tuesday (06Dec11).
Swank was thrilled with the "cool" present and promised to show off her fit fish during her next appearance on the show.

The Oscar winner joined Seal, violinist Vanessa Mae and Jean-Claude Van Damme at the leader's 35th birthday bash in Grozny on 5 October (11) - but she insists she was only there as a representative of a Turkish real estate company and thought she was a part of a peace tribute.
She explains, "I was invited by a Turkish real estate company to go and help be a proponent of peace by celebrating the rebuilding of a war-torn city in Chechnya... I thought, 'Absolutely, yes... I love to travel, I love to meet people...' Then, once there on the side of the stage, someone said, 'It's the President's birthday; could you wish him a happy birthday?'
"I'd never heard of him before and in fact when they said his name I couldn't even say it so I said, 'I'll just say, Mr. President'. So I went out and said, 'Happy Birthday Mr. President after I said my whole speech about it's great to be a proponent of peace and you guys are doing incredible things. Then, when I got back (to America), only then was I made aware of who he was... Now I can say his name. His name is Kadyrov and he's a bad guy."
Swank has already handed over the money she received to attend the party and she has linked with the human rights activists who tried to warn the actress about going to Chechnya and saluting a leader allegedly responsible for the brutality and torture of his own people.
Speaking to U.S. chat show host Jay Leno on Friday (02Dec11), she adds, "Human rights organisations had reached out to warn me before I went but I did not get those warnings, they weren't shared with me... I had never known and I thank the human rights organisations for reaching out... The silver lining is I'm actually working with the Human Rights Watch now."
And she insists there's no excuse for what she did - admitting she should have done her research.
Swanks adds, "Shame on me. I should know where I'm going and I should do better research and I definitely can guarantee I won't go anywhere ever again without doing full research... I actually didn't know that Chechnya was separate from Russia... I had no idea. "

The Oscar winner has opened up the doors to her Manhattan home to show off her interiors for the December (11) issue of Elle Decor.
Among the shots are Swank's chic monochrome living room, her brown kitchen design, large bathroom and a bedroom.
Swank says, "My home is my safe haven, where I can rejuvenate and rest. I feel like I'm in a tree overlooking the city."

Sylvester Stallone's 1976 movie about underdog boxer Rocky Balboa topped a poll by Lovefilm ahead of the 1993 comedy about the Jamaican Olympic bobsleigh team and Hilary Swank's Oscar-winning turn in Million Dollar Baby.
Lovefilm editor Helen Cowley says, "With the (2012 London) Olympics on their way... sport is a hot topic - from living room to locker room. Whether it is football favourites, bobsleighing blunders or boxing Balboas we love to watch sporting heroes cross the finishing line in style."
The top five is rounded out by Raging Bull and The Wrestler, while other movies in the top 10 include The Blind Side, The Damned United and The Fighter.

Hilary Swank faced some harsh consequences after attending a party for Chechen President (and alleged human rights violator) Ramzan Kaydrov. Obviously human rights groups were not too thrilled she rubbed elbows with that kind of company, but now a source revealed that even her PR team at 42West decided to drop her as a client because of the whole party debacle. According to Entertainment Weekly, the publicity firm parted ways with Swank over a disagreement on how best to deal with the fallout from the Chechnya party scandal, which Swank apologized for three weeks ago.
Earlier this week, Swank tried to further clean her image by firing her manager of eight years, Jason Weinberg, and two of his associates at CAA, but not her lawyer, Jeff Bernstein, who reportedly played a significant role in the Chechnya visit. Perhaps 42West didn't approve of its client's firing rampage and decided to preemptively get rid of her in fear she would be coming for them next. But now, not only does the world see she has terrible RSVP skills, but it appears as though she also lets others take the fall for her poorly judged actions.
42West has not returned calls from sources seeking clarification on the dispute, and Swank’s lawyer also has yet to comment on the matter, but that could just be because she ended up firing him too. That seems to be her go-to move nowadays, so I guess, in a way, she had all this coming.
Click on the image below for more photos of Hilary Swank!
Source: EW

Looks like I underestimated Garry Marshall. I'd assumed his latest film, New Year's Eve, to be some sort of sentimental rom-com. But the latest poster for the film, depicting a couple embracing while a massive fireball engulfs the city behind them, seems to indicate something else entirely:
New Year's Eve stars Halle Berry, Robert De Niro, Hilary Swank, Zac Efron, and a few dozen or so other attractive people. It opens December 9, 2011.
Click below for more images of Halle Berry:

The singer/actor wants to collaborate with a host of Hollywood stars for the collection, which he intends to call The Act of Song.
Connick, Jr. came up with the idea after being impressed with Freeman's singing skills when they worked together on family film Dolphin Tale.
He tells CNN host Piers Morgan, "The guy can sing... If you break down some of the real simple elements of a voice, like the tone, he's got a very nice tone to his voice... He's a great guy... And he's got like a nice vibrato when he sings.
"I had an idea to do a CD. And I'm thinking about calling it The Act of Song, and getting Academy Award-winners who aren't known as singers to sing. Maybe (Freeman) could write lyrics, I could write music or we could sing a standard or do something. And I asked some of my friends, like Hilary Swank and Renee Zellweger if they'd be interested in doing it. Because I just think people would love to hear those great minds interpret lyrics... I'd like to do it."

Officials at Human Rights Watch have denounced Swank and Jean-Claude Van Damme for partying with Kadyrov in celebration of his 35th birthday on 5 October (11), amid allegations the leader is responsible for the brutality and torture of his own people.
The Million Dollar Baby star has already apologised for agreeing to attend the party and speaking onstage at the lavish bash in the country's capital city of Grozny, admitting, "If I had a full understanding of what this event was apparently intended to be, I would never have gone."
But her words of sorrow were not enough for Human Rights Watch executives - they responded by stating, "The more important question now is what is Swank going to do with the blood money paid from Kadyrov’s coffers? She sidesteps the issue completely."
The extra pressure has now prompted Swank to rid herself of the party money and a representative for the star tells The Hollywood Reporter that she will be giving away the appearance fee "to various charitable organisations".
Violinist Vanessa Mae and singer Seal have also come under fire for performing at the birthday gig, although the Kiss From A Rose hitmaker is refusing to be drawn into the fuss.
In a defiant post on his Twitter.com blog, he wrote, "By going there, I played MUSIC for the Chechenyan (sic) people. I'm a MUSICIAN and would appreciate if you leave me out of your politics."
It is not known what fee Seal was paid to sing at the party but British musician Mae reportedly took home a $500,000 (£312,500) purse for her work.

I have to hand it to the producers behind the upcoming New Year's Eve (a spiritual sequel to the ensemble comedy Valentine's Day). Not only did they round up every familiar Hollywood face under the sun, but they also managed to fit them on the movie's official poster.
To give you an idea, here's the roster: Halle Berry, Jessica Biel, Robert De Niro, Lea Michele, Sarah Jessica Parker, Josh Duhamel, Zac Efron, Jon Bon Jovi, Abigail Breslin, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Hector Elizondo, Katherine Heigl, Ashton Kutcher, Seth Meyers, Michelle Pfeiffer, Til Schweiger, Hilary Swank, Sofia Vergara and possibly some unknowns. Then again, maybe the extras in this movie are former A-listers. I wouldn't be surprised.
Take a look at the poster (along with the film's equally star-studded trailer) below.

Portrayed Betty Anne Waters, an unemployed single mother, who spent a decade earning a law degree so she could represent her brother in the film "Conviction"

Had regular role on ABC's comedy series "Camp Wilder"

Starred as a inspiring teacher in the drama "Freedom Writers"

Joined the cast of "Beverly Hills, 90210" (Fox) as Carly Reynolds, a single mother who becomes a love interest for Steve Sanders (Ian Ziering)

Landed first job as guest star in episode of the syndicated series "Harry and the Hendersons"

Co-starred with Al Pacino in the American version of "Insomnia"

Signed on to be the spokeswoman for a new women's fragrance launched by Guerlain

Nominated for the 2011 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role

Played lead in the feature "The Next Karate Kid"

Gave a Oscar winning performance as Teena Brandon, a young woman undergoing a sexual identity crisis who opted to live as a man and was brutally raped and murdered when it was discovered she was born female in "Boys Don't Cry"

Nominated for the 2011 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role ("Conviction")

Cast in the Sam Raimi directed "The Gift"

Cast as Josh Hartnett's love interest in "The Black Dahlia," Brian De Palma's adaptation of James Ellroy's classic noir novel

Co-starred with Clint Eastwood in "Million Dollar Baby" as a woman determined to establish herself as a boxer

Co-starred as a widow whose life is turned upside down by letters left behind by her husband in "P.S. I Love You"

Starred opposite Anjelica Huston and Frances O'Connor in the HBO movie "Iron Jawed Angels," about the stuggle for women's right to vote; received Golden Globe and SAG nominations for Best Actress in a Miniseries or TV Movie

Summary

Though she struggled to gain her footing for almost a decade, actress Hilary Swank finally had a major breakthrough when she earned the Academy Award for her gripping performance in the indie darling "Boys Don't Cry" (1999). A classic "overnight" success story that Hollywood loves to sire, Swank quickly proved that she was no one-trick-pony with quality turns in Sam Raimi's supernatural thriller "The Gift" (2000), the period romantic drama "The Affair of the Necklace" (2001) and Christopher Nolan's excellent crime thriller "Insomnia" (2002). She went on to find her star-making niche playing steely women who succeeded against the odds, best exemplified by her performance as a female boxer who meets a tragic end in Clint Eastwood's moody drama "Million Dollar Baby" (2004), a role that earned her a second Oscar. From there, she etched powerful performances as real-life women such as American suffragist Alice Paul in "Iron Jawed Angels" (HBO, 2004), unorthodox teacher Erin Gruwell in "Freedom Writers" (2007) and groundbreaking aviatrix Amelia Earhart in "Amelia" (2009). In 2006, Swank was the subject of tabloid headlines following her divorce from actor Chad Lowe and subsequent romance with her own agent, John Campisi. Five years later, she was criticized for attending the birthday celebration of Chechnyan president Ramzan Kadyrov, who had been cited for human rights violations, leading her to publicly apologize. Despite such embarrassment, Swank remained one of Hollywood's more versatile actresses who drew upon her working-class roots to deliver one informed performance after another.

Name

Role

Comments

John Campisi

Companion

Began dating shortly after Swank separated from Chad Lowe; the couple was spotted kissing and holding hands Aug. 27, 2006; Confirmed they were dating December 2006; Reportedly split May 2012

Met c. 1992 while acting together on the feature "Quiet Days in Hollywood" (shown at 1997 Cannes Festival); Married Sept. 28, 1997; Filed for divorce May 2006; Divorced Nov. 1, 2007

Stephen Swank

Father

Was officer in the Air National Guard; Separated from Swank's mother c. 1990

Judy Swank

Mother

Accompanied daughter to L.A. after separating from husband c. 1990

Dan Swank

Brother

Born c. 1966; Owned marketing company in Edmonds, WA

Education

Name

South Pasadena High School

Santa Monica City College

Sehome High School

Notes

While in high school, Swank competed in the Junior Olympics and Washington State championships in swimming. She ranked fifth in the state in all-around gymnastics.

When asked if she had ever done martial arts before "The Next Karate Kid": "No, never. I had flexibility in gymnastics, and I took instruction and worked hard, hours and hours a day. I wanted to do all my stunts." – Swank to Parade magazine, Aug. 7, 1994

"It took about four weeks for me to detox from masculinity. I felt like I had lost every ounce of my femininity and I honestly didn't know if I'd ever get it back." – Swank on playing Brandon Teena in "Boy's Don't Cry," to Talk magazine, October 1999

"I figured out why it was so easy. I had so much fear and anxiety about it, but when we did it, it was so professional, it didn't live up to my fear. It was just make-believe." – Swank on the brutal rape scene in "Boy's Don't Cry," to Out magazine, October 1999

Swank was named one of People Magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People" for 2004.

"The second after I won the Academy Award [for 1999's 'Boys Don't Cry'], I felt inhibited, like I was being watched under a microscope. People weren't necessarily putting that on me so much as I was putting that on myself. It took a while before I could relax and enjoy acting again." – Swank quoted in Premiere, December 2004/January 2005

"In the end, it just didn't work, but I would never look back on this relationship as failed. I look at it as 13 1/2 years of success." – Swank on her split from husband Chad Lowe, to Vanity Fair, August 2006

In October 2011, Swank was criticized for attending the 35th birthday celebration of Chechen president and alleged human rights abuser Ramzan Kadyrov. The actress later apologized and promised to donate the paycheck she received for her attendance to charity.

Affiliations

Spokeswoman for the Hetrick-Martin Institute, home of New York City's Harvey Milk High School for gay, bi and transgender youth.